Even After Everything
by Helennnn
Summary: Once more, her eyes searched through the large crowds of people, searching for that certain face she knew would be lurking around somewhere. At that moment in time, to her, he was all that mattered. He would always be the only one who mattered.


**Warning: There may be one or two spoilers. Nothing major, as I'm sure those of you who stick only to the anime have kind of guessed what is going to happen, but still. I thought it best to give you a warning just in case.**

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**Even After Everything  
**By: Helennnn

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It felt as though everything had ended so suddenly and for a moment, when others regained consciousness and climbed to their feet, nobody said a word. It was silent, with only the wind rushing through the destroyed clearing, whipping hair around their faces and causing their clothes to rustle.

"It's over." Naruto mumbled after a moment, seeming to be just as stunned at the rest of them. "It's actually over."

He was injured, his clothes were burned from the Kyuubi's chakra and there was blood covering him here and there, but just as Sakura stepped forward, lifting her hands to heal him, somebody else beat her to it. Hyuuga Hinata. She wasn't sure how to feel about that, how to feel about the warmth in Naruto's eyes as he glanced down at the girl now healing his wounds. It was strange, but Sakura felt a little betrayed. It had always been her who healed Naruto…

Turning her head to the side and glancing around to see if anybody else may need her help, Sakura spotted many teams and friends finding each other, embracing one another. Ino had joined Shikamaru and Choji, hugging them both fiercely and even shedding a few tears, the loss of her father coming back to the front of her mind. Shikamaru remained composed for her, even though he was also feeling the same pain, patting her back comfortingly a second before Choji was wrapping his large arms around the pair of them, squeezing them both against his chest. His lips were moving, whispering something to them both, but Sakura was too far away to hear what was being said. She was certain they were kind words, words of thanks to whoever was listening.

The other medics were all racing around, trying to find those who needed healing – Shizune and Tsunade included. Sakura knew she should be helping them, helping others, but she just… couldn't. She felt numb. Everything was just so surreal to her. The war had actually ended. She had been right there, had been with Naruto, Kakashi, Obito and Sasuke when it ended, but… Sakura couldn't find the words.

Wait…

_Kakashi!_

How could she have forgotten about him?

Sakura's head whipped around, searching for her former sensei. He was the type of guy to hide his injuries, to play everything down so that others could be taken care of first. Beneath his cold, hard exterior, he was such a selfless person. In her eyes he was, anyway.

When she spotted him, however, Sakura quickly looked away, knowing he would want privacy. He was saying his final, _final_, goodbyes to his friend. The friend who was supposed to have died so many years ago, the friend he had already grieved for and still grieved for to this very day! If the look on Kakashi's face meant anything (despite the fact it was covered), this would continue to haunt him for a while, maybe even for the rest of his life. After having the sense beaten back into him, he had pushed aside his emotions and fought hard, but now everything would be catching up to him. He was being forced to face his demons.

She bit her lip. Everybody had somebody to either hold and whisper soft, loving words to, or to grieve for. In the middle of lovers embracing and sharing intense kisses of relief and happiness, in the middle of friends and teams being reunited and sharing meaningful looks, holding each other, in the middle of _everything_… She had no one.

No, Sakura did not have no one…

Once more, her eyes searched through the large crowds of people, searching for that certain face she knew would be lurking around somewhere. At that moment in time, to her, he was all that mattered. He would always be the only one who mattered. Even after all this time, after everything that had happened, she was still so madly, so foolishly, in love with him. Only, her love had matured as she did, growing and swelling to new heights. Perhaps the saying was true. Absence made the heart grow fonder.

There was never a day that had gone by that Sakura did not think of him. And over the years, she had fallen out of her crush for him, that stupid, obsessive crush that everybody held against her, and tumbled head first straight into loving him. He was all she could see, all she had ever been able to see. It was like her body knew when he was close, as a familiar nervous and fluttering feeling would fill her stomach and her heart would race. Most of all, even after trying to kill her, he somehow still managed to make her feel safe.

And then a hush fell over the entire alliance, everybody looking up as a certain group entered the clearing. The alliance separated, giving the group of six some room (more room than necessary). Sakura's heartbeat increased, pounding loudly in her chest as the six shinobi came to a stop, with the one she had been searching for standing right at the front. The man she utterly despised was standing not too far from him, but instead of nasty, disgusting smirk that she had always imagined him having, always remembered him having, his features were blank.

Her feet were moving before she even realised it.

Onyx eyes snapped to hers and the alliance all held their breaths as Sakura all but ran to him.

Naruto smiled.

Raising his eyes, Kakashi couldn't help but smile also.

She heard and felt his breath leave him as she slammed into him, her eyes squeezing shut and her arms wrapping tightly around his neck. A faint shudder took over her body for a moment and she felt her cheeks grow wet with tears.

"Sasuke–kun," she breathed, barely holding back her sob.

He didn't return her embrace, but the fact that he didn't push her away meant a lot. Not only to her, but it meant a lot to the others who were watching them. "…Sakura." he paused for a moment, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "What are you–"

"I told you already," Sakura smiled shakily and leaned back, cupping his cheek and staring into his eyes. She ignored the vicious glare she was receiving from the redhead stood not too far from him. "If you leave, despite having everybody around me, it's the same as being alone."

His eyes widened a fraction, remembering the way she had confessed her love to him before he left the village, how Sakura had cried and begged him not to leave.

"Why?"

"I must be stupid," Sakura whispered against his lips, staring into Sasuke's stunned eyes with a small, shaky smile, "because even after everything you've done, after all the hurt you've caused, I still love you. I'll always love you."

And then she kissed him.

And they were all stunned when he kissed her back.

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**A/N - I had this stuck in my head for a while now and I decided to just write it down and get it over with! Tell me if you find any mistakes, as it only took around ten to fifteen minutes to write and I only skimmed through it when editing it.**

**HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :-)**


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